2025/26 Premio Brembo: the Academy Event at Kilometro Rosso

On Tuesday 19 May, the Auditorium at Kilometro Rosso hosted the 8th edition of the “Premio Brembo” award ceremony, the annual event dedicated to the talents of Atalanta’s Youth Sector.

Far from the usual surroundings of the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia, hosting the initiative was Brembo itself, Top Sponsor of the Nerazzurri academy and promoter of a project created to recognise not only the sporting development of the club’s young athletes, but also their human and educational growth.

This year, the awards were presented to boys and girls from the Primavera down to the U15 sides, as well as to the athletes from the two For Special teams, who stood out throughout the season for their behaviour, dedication and academic commitment.

As per tradition, the selection process went beyond the purely technical and sporting aspect, rewarding also the human, educational and personal values shown daily both on and off the pitch, highlighting concrete examples of growth, responsibility and resilience.

Among those attending the event were Cristina Bombassei, Brembo Chief Legacy Officer, Chief Executive Officer Luca Percassi, Corporate General Director Andrea Fabris, Head of Youth Development Roberto Samaden and Commercial & Marketing Director Romano Zanforlin.

Also present at the “Premio Brembo” ceremony was the entire competitive sector of Atalanta’s Youth Academy, together with coaches, fitness trainers, medical staff and club officials from the Primavera down to the U15 sides and the For Special teams.

Opening the ceremony were the words of Cristina Bombassei, Chief Legacy Officer of Brembo, who highlighted the value of a project born from the collaboration between two local excellences united by the same principles of growth, commitment and responsibility:

“First of all, I want to greet all the boys and girls here today, our guests, the entire Atalanta delegation and Luca Percassi, with whom I’m truly happy to share this moment. From an idea born almost nine years ago and developed together, something very special for our territory has grown: a project that brings together two excellences united by the desire to always give their very best — for you young people, for us and for the environment in which we live and work. For us, it’s a real pleasure to host you in this space. The time we choose to dedicate to you comes from the attention we want to reserve for you, because you are the real protagonists of this day. Speaking about Atalanta’s Youth Sector means speaking about boys and girls who every single day choose to challenge themselves, to train, to improve and to pursue important goals. All of this represents something extraordinary for us and a great source of inspiration”.

One of the central themes of her speech was the value of sport as a school of life, both individually and collectively:

“Football, like sport in general, is much more than competition: it is passion, sacrifice, discipline and team spirit. It is a universal language capable of bringing together people, cities and different cultures around the same values. And just like in life, sport is not only about victories or smooth journeys: there are obstacles, difficult moments and demanding challenges. But it is precisely these experiences that make us stronger, more aware and more determined to reach new goals. And this is where you, the new generations, come into play, because the future of sport inevitably belongs to young people. In our work too, we face new challenges every week: our technicians study new solutions, materials and innovative ideas to keep improving constantly. And even if our worlds are different, we share the same principles: believing in yourselves, working hard every day and never giving up in the face of difficulties”.

The final part of the speech focused on the values that must guide young athletes both on and off the pitch, concluding with a reflection on the concept of “legacy”:

“Wearing the Atalanta shirt and growing up in its Youth Sector represents an extraordinary opportunity, but also a great responsibility both on and off the pitch. Talent is important, but on its own it is not enough: it is only the starting point. What truly makes the difference is attitude, the willingness to learn, respect for teammates, coaches and opponents, as well as the ability to work as a team. Because there are no shortcuts to excellence. We deeply believe in you, in young people, in sport and in the future you represent. I like to think that each of you can reflect on your own legacy, on the mark you want to leave in your personal story and in the history of the territory and of Atalanta”.

The floor then passed to Luca Percassi, Chief Executive Officer of Atalanta BC:

“It’s difficult to add anything more to what Cristina has already said: being here today is a great source of satisfaction and I would like to thank you for opening the doors of your home to us. The journeys of Brembo and Atalanta are built around one great common denominator: work. Working every day to improve and constantly raise the level of your performances on the pitch. That is exactly what we also try to pass on to our youngsters every single day. Thanks as well to Brembo’s example and to the values you continue to convey day after day: the boys and girls here today will go home with something precious, with the awareness that what they manage to achieve in life will not come through words, but through hard work, dedication, sacrifice and the constant desire to improve. These are values that Atalanta have always passed on to their youngsters and that continue to make them recognisable both on and off the pitch. And precisely for this reason, on such a special occasion, I feel compelled to give them one important piece of advice: never give up on your studies, because they are a fundamental tool for growing as people and for keeping curiosity and the desire to learn alive”.

Speaking on behalf of Atalanta’s Academy was Head of Youth Development Roberto Samaden:

“First of all, I would once again like to thank those who gave us the opportunity to be here today. By combining academic and sporting performance, this award represents what, for Atalanta, as our CEO Luca Percassi and President Antonio Percassi constantly remind us, matters more than anything else: behaviour. This recognition is the seal on the work that is carried out every single day in Zingonia. You should feel fortunate to belong to a club where being people before being players is considered the first true value, even before the sporting activity itself. Beyond the chance to play, compete, win but also suffer, what you will take home from this journey and carry with you for the rest of your lives is precisely the experience of living this type of path. The beauty of this award also lies in the fact that it represents and encapsulates everything we do every day in Zingonia, both on and off the pitch”.

Ahead of the awards ceremony, Lucia Castelli, educational psychologist for the Nerazzurri academy, took the floor:

“We will now go through the criteria that led to the assignment of these awards, an evaluation process that once again this year required great care and attention. The judging panel therefore faced anything but an easy task in selecting the winners of this edition. The eighth edition of the Premio Brembo is dedicated to the boys and girls of the competitive sector. This is precisely to underline how central this aspect is in each of your growth journeys: academic performance and sporting performance go hand in hand, united by the same values of commitment, sacrifice, resilience and the ability to give things up, both on the pitch and in the classroom. And there is no shortage of virtuous examples: Giorgio Scalvini was the winner of the very first edition of the Premio Brembo, while another eleven players awarded over the years are now, or have previously been, part of the U23s side. Winning this award therefore means embodying a very specific set of values and qualities”.

THE AWARD WINNERS

• MEN’S UNDER-15s: Gabriel Ottocento

• WOMEN’S UNDER-15s: Francesca Roveda

• MEN’S UNDER-16s: Alessandro Percassi

• ATALANTA FOR SPECIAL: Andrea Arrigoni

• MEN’S UNDER-17s: Giovanni Zanatta

• WOMEN’S UNDER-17s: Martina Bacchio

• MEN’S UNDER-18s: Alessandro Franchini

• PRIMAVERA: Mattia Pedretti

• ATALANTA FOR SPECIAL: Dario Cremaschi

SPECIAL AWARDS: Diletta Pesenti (Women’s Under-15s) — “Example of commitment and resilience” — and Alessandro Barbieri (Men’s Primavera) — “Example of commitment, resilience and maturity”.

The evening concluded with the final greetings and the now customary selfie of Cristina Bombassei alongside the ceremony’s protagonists. The event then drew to a close in the Kilometro Rosso hall with the traditional group photo.